Reviews: Wildlife Volume 1
The Bookmonger | Barbara Lloyd McMichael
WildLife May be a slender volume but it packs a whole lot of attitude between the spring green covers. Sequim fishing guide and newspaper columnist grouses about everything from tough hikes to house cats in this book But for all his bluff and bluster, he ends up finding something akin to bliss in the details every time, whether it’s a steelhead in the river or a weasel in the house.
Neal portrays himself as a rugged, outdoorsy type, with little use for city slickers, vegetarians or eggheads. Never mind that all of these pejorative terms describe you faithful book reviewer to a tee- I was too busy chortling at Neal’s sly home-spun humor to take much offense. And to be fair, he pokes as much fun at himself as he does at anybody else.
WildLIfe is the kind of piece that is apt to make you burst out in embarrassing honks of laughter so (take it from one who’s been there) don’t read it while you are waiting your turn at the hair salon.
From The Reel News | Terry W. Sheely, Reel Books in Review
I don’t know Pat Neal and missed the flutter of publicity that probably surrounded the release of WildLife, Neal’s 97 page collection of Olympic Peninsula anecdotes, moss and monsoon philosophies and snippets of what life looks like through a fish guide’s eyes. A thoughtful member of the Puget Sound Angler’s club in Sequim recognized that I might enjoy it and passed along a copy. I am in John McLaughlin’s debt.
This slim little book is a collection of stories that Neal originally wrote for an Olympic Peninsula, “newspaper that,” he says, “prefers not to be identified for reasons that will become obvious once you read them.”
Doubtful.
The pace of the book and a peek into the refreshing clarity of Pat Neal’s mind starts on Chapter 1, page 1, sentence 1. His stories are short, rarely more than three pages, quick hits and thoughts spring-boarding off a life on the Peninsula. Neal’s style of writing is quick, pointed, thoughtful and dangerously funny. His subjects and home waters are familiar.
It would be difficult for any thoughtful outdoors person to read this book and not enjoy it immensely. Find a copy of WildLife. It’s a lot of book for such a skinny package.
Reviews: The Fisherman’s Prayer
From The Reel News | Terry W. Sheely, Reel Books in Review
December 2007
Painted with a single curving pen stroke the symbolic Christian fish is an icon on license plate frames, bumper stickers, ant-Darwinism and now performs as an over lay on the fish scales that cover Pat Neal’s
new book, “The Fisherman’s Prayer.”
The fish icon is a good fit for this cover although to accurately reflect the content I would have considered adding a winking eye or amusing grin to the fish face. Be assured, there is no trace of sacrilege hiding between the lines or lurking in entendres, but there is a refreshing gust of reality and pragmatics, roadside litter and angling foibles.
Neal’s mossy muse, intriguing insight, river level perspective and been-there-done-that-and-somehow survived brand of humor is a rare blend. It imparts a flavor of common sense, thoughtfulness, quiet chuckles and entertainment while delivering an appreciation for life, for fishing and for the Olympic Peninsula.
Neal is a Peninsula fishing guide. A drift boater. A writer. A newspaper columnist for the Peninsula Daily News and now a poet.
The Fisherman’s Prayer is chanted in the wordsmith rhythm of the Lord’s Prayer, but reformulated for “today’s modern fishing conditions” and is not limited to the water. The Fisherman’s Prayer works on all species of fresh and saltwater game fish. “Don’t go fishing without a prayer” warns the book jacket blurb.
At the risk of giving away the plotline, I’ll take the liberty of printing the prayer, and hope that it doesn’t discourage anyone from buying the book.
The Fisherman’s Prayer
“Our Father, above the water,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy rains will come. Thy rivers run on Earth
As they do in heaven.
Give us this day our daily fish and
Forgive our excess limit.
As we forgive those who set the limit.
Lead us not into rough water.
Deliver us at the end of season.
For thine is the river
And the ocean
And the Glory
Forever and ever, Amen.
The 21 stories that come alive in this slim volume were first published in various Washington newspapers. The photos, prayers and poetry came later, I suspect.
This is Neal’s second book. “Wildlife” was released a few years ago to what acclaim I don’t know. I do know that my copy shares a shelf with Richard Brautigan’s “Trout Fishing in America“, (which we all know is not about trout fishing and barely about America), Aldo Leopold’s “Sand County Almanac” ( which is about everything of real importance), six books of Roderick Haig-Brown and John Geirach’s “Another Lousy Day in Paradise”
These are all creative, reflective books packed with buckshot wisdom. Powerful thoughts that dilute and scatter the further they travel downrange, but that no matter how widely patterned are each one capable of delivering a good sting, rousing reaction and provoking thought.
I rarely quote more than a line or two of a book usually to present the writing style and skill of the author. I think, however, that several snippets of Pat Neal are called for to get a somewhat accurate line on his thought process, his agenda and his insight.
See what you think.
“Albacore have never been more abundant. Maybe it’s just a coincidence but they are not currently being managed by the State of Washington.”
“LaPush used to be the best salmon fishing hole in Washington. With the miracle of salmon mismanagement and global warming it has been transformed into tuna town.”
“We notice spoor along the river’s edge. Donut boxes, coffee cups, and snoose cans that tell the old guide it’s a morning bite in this hole. If there had been a mess of beer cans on the beach you’d know it was a night fishing hole. This is what we call matching the hatch.”
“Creek fishing in the Olympics is a form of mountain climbing where you carry a fishing pole instead of a rope.”
“These massive runs of fish swam up the Dungeness almost all year-round. Far up into the mountains where they fed people, animals and birds, they spawned and died and their carcasses washed back down fertilizing the river, the forests and the bay in a life cycle we destroyed before we even understood it.”
“It’s like we say on the river: the worse fishing gets the more you need a guide.”
“I remember one client asked me to make him a sandwich. I told him, we’re not married, so you can’t talk to me that way. Besides, I’m the one rigging up rotten globs of fish eggs, shrimp and herring all day. Do you really want me anywhere near your food?”
“I think it was the famous French philosopher What’s His Name, who said, ’Hell is other fishermen.’ With the population ballooning out of control, there are bound to be more and more fishermen clogging up our rivers. All of these fishermen have one thing in common: They come to the Olympic Peninsula seeking solitude.”
“Since becoming a fishing guide, people have been constantly asking me how much it costs to go fishing. So far, fishing has cost me everything.”
“Fishing may not be a matter of life and death. Maybe it’s much more important than that.”